FAQs

Our on-campus Career Services staff can evaluate your student's strengths, weaknesses, and interests to help determine a major. Additionally, taking course in areas of interest, talking to upper-classmen of different majors, and determining what is most valuable to your student will help determine a major. We strongly encourage students to declare a major prior to the beginning of their sophomore year.

During the fall and spring semesters, one credit hour is equivalent to one hour of class per week. A three-hour college algebra class might be held every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, for 50-minutes each day. (During summer courses, intersession courses, and 8-week courses, students will actually be in class longer than one hour per week per credit hour, but the math works out the same.)

Students have two grade point averages (GPAs). One is the cumulative GPA, which includes grades for every single course the student takes. The other is the retention/graduation GPA. The benefit of the retention GPA is that if a student retakes a course, only the second grade is calculated (up to four classes or 18 hours). For example, if a student earns a “D” in an American History course his first semester and decides to re-take it later and makes an “A”, both the “D” and the “A” will be calculated into the cumulative GPA, but only the “A” will be calculated in the retention GPA. Both GPAs are recorded on transcripts. Retention GPAs are used to determine academic standing.

The majority of courses have a maximum of 20 students. Some will be more, some will be less. However, the student to faculty ratio at RSU is 16:1. Most classes have around 20 students.

The first thing your student should do is know the attendance and assignment make-up policy. Second, get with another student in the class who takes good notes, copy those notes, and find out about any announcements and assignments. Typically, professors will indicate on the first day of class what the best way to contact them is. Depending on the professor’s preference, your student may want to make contact before the class is missed, especially if it is an exam day.

Grades are posted to the student’s transcript within a week of the last day of finals and can be viewed at MyRSU. Grades are not mailed out.

For students to do well, they must attend and participate in class. Class attendance is (more than) strongly encouraged. Many professors calculate attendance into grades. And even if some professors mention that they do not take attendance, you can be sure they all notice who is and is not in class. 

Each letter grade is assigned points. An “A” gets four points, a “B” gets three points, a “C” gets two points, etc. Multiply points by the number of hours for the course. Add up all the points, then divide by the total number of hours. Here is an example:

Divide the number of points (36 points) by the number of hours (16 hours) to get the GPA (2.25 GPA).

Although a grade of C or better is required to clear a deficiency, zero-level courses are GPA neutral. This means the grades will neither help nor hinder your student’s GPA. This becomes especially important when a student’s schedule is primarily made up of zero-level courses. For example, if a student is enrolled in four zero-level classes and one 1000-level class, the only grade that will impact the GPA is the 1000-level class.

President’s Honor Roll: Fall and Spring semesters students must complete a minimum of 12 semester hours (6 for summer) of college-level courses with a 4.0 GPA. Dean’s Honor Roll: Fall and Spring semesters students must complete a minimum of 12 semester hours (6 for summer) of college-level courses with a 3.5 and no grade lower than a “B.”

Have your student contact the National Student Clearinghouse at www.studentclearinghouse.org or 703-742-4200.

Please visit our Cost of Attendance website where you will find a Calculator, Tuition & Fees schedule to help you determine the cost for your student to attend RSU.

Bills are addressed to students and are mailed to their permanent address we have on file.

Please visit our Scholarships web site to find out what scholarships are available.

Please visit our Financial Aid web site for more information.

Yes. Most departments on campus employ students. The best way for your student to find a campus job is to check out our online job postings or to inquire with individual campus departments. Applications can be picked up in Markham Hall, Room 102 on the Claremore campus or in the Enrollment Offices at the Bartlesville and Pryor campuses.

If it is during the drop/add period (first 1/8 of the semester), the student receives a full refund for tuition and fees.  If it is after the add/drop period, no refund is given. Refunds are distributed directly to the student. Make sure your student has selected their refund preference.